Religion
Heaveno!
Leonso Canales of Kingsville, Texas began his campaign to replace the greeting "Hello" with the less satanic "Heaveno" in 1988, but he got really serious about it in 1997 when he placed ads in the local paper showing the word "Hello" scratched out and replaced with "Heaveno." That same year, his campaign received official support when the commissioners of Kleberg County voted unanimously to designate "Heaveno" as the county's official greeting.Canales died in Sep 2014, and with his departure the wind seems to have been taken out of the sails of the Heaveno movement. The website heaveno.com has been abandoned (although the old site is preserved in the Wayback Machine).
The Encyclopedia of American Loons includes a brief entry about Canales, and his son posted a memorial to him on YouTube (embedded below).
Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, Pennsylvania) - Jan 17, 1997
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 07, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Languages, Religion, 1990s
Marjoe Gortner, Child Preacher
Marjoe Gortner made headlines in the late 1940s when, at the age of 3½, he became an evangelist preacher. And in 1949, at the age of 4, he performed his first marriage ceremony, marrying Raymond Miller and Alma Brown.
Source: Google Cultural Institute
Daily Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon) - Jan 4, 1949
In the early 1970s, Gortner had a change of heart and collaborated with documentary filmmakers to expose the profit motive of the revivalist industry. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Film.
Source: Wikipedia
Gortner then went on to become an actor, appearing mostly in B-movies, before finally transitioning into producing celebrity sporting events to raise money for charities.
Read more about Gortner at wikipedia and RogerEbert.com.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 05, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Religion, 1940s
Amish Marathon Runner
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 23, 2015 -
Comments (11)
Category: Fashion, Religion, Sports
Realized he was Jesus
Here at WU we've explored a number of odd reasons marriages have failed (such as the husband's over-fondness of horse fondling, and a man's dislike of his wife's deformed nipples).Add to this list Alan John Miller, whose marriage didn't survive his realization that he was Jesus Christ, reincarnated. I can see how that might put a strain on a relationship.
Miller (aka Jesus) went on to found the Divine Truth ministry in Australia. He still claims to have been Jesus and says that he remembers many details of his past life, such as his crucifixion (says it wasn't that bad). However, he doesn't remember how to speak Aramaic.
He's also found a new life partner, Mary Luck, who coincidentally happens to be Mary Magdalene, reincarnated.
More info: Times Live
Mary Luck and Alan Miller (aka Mary Magdalene and Jesus)
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 17, 2015 -
Comments (14)
Category: Religion, Divorce
Bob Harrington, the Chaplain of Bourbon Street
The animated mouth of Jesus, who speaks with a robot voice, is tops!
As for Bob Harrington himself, am I cynical for imagining that hanging out with the hookers and party-animals of Bourbon Street was more fun than ministering to Jim and Jane Normal in the suburbs?
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 14, 2015 -
Comments (2)
Category: Regionalism, Religion, 1960s
Church Of Bacon
Move over Spaghetti Monster, The Church of Bacon is new in town! With bacon's popularity peaking its an idea whose time has come.
Update: For those who are reticent to take a Google survey (sorry about that) Here is a link to the Church of Bacon website.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 13, 2015 -
Comments (9)
Category: Publicity Stunts, Religion, Bacon
Father Pierre Monastery Herbs
Original ad.
I wish I could find a picture on the internet of the packaging for this product. Or learn who the legendary Father Pierre was. Alas, even the mighty Web does not have the answer to everything.
But I did find out the ingredients.
As to the recipe's effectiveness, I cannot attest.
Apparently, this current-day Russian product also known as "Monastery Herbs" has a different composition.
"Ingredients: rose hips, currant leaves, birch leaves, roots and rhizomes Elecampane, grass oregano herb St. John's wort, willow (willow-herb)."
Russian page.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 25, 2015 -
Comments (7)
Category: Body, Nature, Religion, Advertising, Excrement, 1940s, Russia
Litigation Through Poetry: Or, Texas Is Hell
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 22, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Law, Nature, Regionalism, Religion, Poetry, 1900s
The Bible Diet
The spiritual nourishment was too rich for this boy's system.
Source: Florence Morning News - Jan 9, 1926.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 13, 2015 -
Comments (6)
Category: Food, Religion, Books, 1920s
Rampaging Bible Seller
A Bible salesman who wouldn't take no for an answer.
Source: The Massillon Evening Independent - Nov 6, 1957
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 07, 2015 -
Comments (13)
Category: Religion, Retailing, 1950s
| Who We Are |
|---|
| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |